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"The research team, led by Professor Monica Craciun, have used this new technique
to create the first transparent and flexible touch-sensor that could enable the
development of artificial skin for use in robot manufacturing. Professor Craciun, from
Exeter’s Engineering department, believes the new discovery could pave the way for
“a graphene-driven industrial revolution” to take place."

New state of matter discovered which could hold the key to
high temperature superconductivity:

"A team of physicists led by Caltech's David Hsieh has discovered an
unusual form of matter—not a conventional metal, insulator, or magnet,
for example, but something entirely different. This phase, characterized
by an unusual ordering of electrons, offers possibilities for new electronic
device functionalities and could hold the solution to a long-standing
mystery in condensed matter physics having to do with high-temperature
superconductivity—the ability for some materials to conduct electricity
without resistance, even at "high" temperatures approaching –100
degrees Celsius."

"If the notion that humans will one day ascend into orbit on a rope of
ultra strong carbon nanofibers sounds a bit out of this world, then you’re
going to love the latest dazzling twist: our future space elevators might
actually be built of diamond.

Graphene may be the hottest substance in materials science right now,
but over the past year, the scientific community has worked itself into a
tizzy over another carbon-based wonder material: diamond nanothreads,
one-dimensional carbon crystals that are as strong as, well, a diamond."

Stainless magnesium could be mass produced and it
would weigh half as much as aluminum:

"Researchers led by a team at UNSW Australia have used the
Australian Synchrotron to turn the discovery of an ultra-low density
and corrosion-resistant magnesium alloy into the first step toward
mass-producing ‘stainless magnesium’, a new high-strength,
lightweight metal, paving the way for cars, trucks and aeroplanes that
can travel further distances on less petrol.

The magnesium-lithium alloy weighs half as much as aluminium and is
30 per cent lighter than magnesium, making it an attractive candidate
to replace these commonly used metals to improve fuel efficiency and
greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport vehicles."

"Titanium is the leading material for artificial knee and hip joints
because it’s strong, wear-resistant and nontoxic, but an unexpected
discovery by Rice University physicists shows that the gold standard
for artificial joints can be improved with the addition of some actual
gold.

“It is about 3-4 times harder than most steels,” said Emilia Morosan,
the lead scientist on a new study in Science Advances that describes
the properties of a 3-to-1 mixture of titanium and gold with a specific
atomic structure that imparts hardness. “It’s four times harder than
pure titanium, which is what’s currently being used in most dental
implants and replacement joints.” -

“When we tried to grind up titanium-gold, we couldn’t,” she recalled. “I
even bought a diamond (coated) mortar and pestle, and we still
couldn’t grind it up.”"

MIT makes compressed graphene sponge material that is
20 times less dense than steel but 10 times stronger, light as
stryofoam but stronger than steel.:

"A team of researchers at MIT has designed one of the strongest lightweight materials
known, by compressing and fusing flakes of graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon.
The new material, a sponge-like configuration with a density of just 5 percent, can have a
strength 10 times that of steel.

In its two-dimensional form, graphene is thought to be the strongest of all known
materials. But researchers until now have had a hard time translating that
two-dimensional strength into useful three-dimensional materials."

Reversible Uranium chemistry opens up new materials
and applications including some cancer cures:

"Uranium can perform reactions that previously no one thought possible, which could
transform the way industry makes bulk chemicals, polymers, and the precursors to new
drugs and plastics, according to new findings from The University of Manchester.

Writing in the journal Nature Communications, the chemists have discovered that
uranium can perform reactions that used to be the preserve of transition metals such as
rhodium and palladium. And because uranium sits between different types of reactivity
of lanthanides and transition metals it might be able to combine the best of both to give
new ways of producing materials and chemicals.

"While the U.S. Navy is busy with the development of a new bulletproof material
called Spinel, Surmet Corporation is already commercially producing its own version
called ALON®. Technically known as aluminum oxynitride, Star Trek fans may be more
familiar with the term “transparent aluminum” first proposed by Scotty in the 1986
movie, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. While ALON isn’t quite what Scotty had in
mind (it’s not truly a transparent metallic aluminum, but rather a transparent
aluminum-based ceramic), it’s pretty darn close."

"Scientists at the University of Maryland have, through chemical treatments and crushed
polymers, found a way to make soft woods over 10 times as strong as their natural
form. They're calling it "super wood."

Lightweight woods, like pine or balsa, already have a number of common uses in
woodworking but they're just not fit for applications in industrial strength projects. The
research team is hopeful that their chemical treatments could change that.

“This new way to treat wood makes it twelve times stronger than natural wood and ten
times tougher,” says Liangbing Hu, leader of the research team which published their
findings in Nature, in a press statement. “This could be a competitor to steel or even
titanium alloys, it is so strong and durable. It’s also comparable to carbon fiber, but
much less expensive.”"